Crowded airports, long security lines and flight
delays. Flying today is not the most pleasant experience, and Karl Lagerfeld
thinks those travelling on Chanel Airlines deserve a touch more glamour.
The indefatigable 82-year-old fashion legend on Tuesday turned Paris’s
glass-roofed Grand Palais exhibition hall into a massive departure lounge
when
he unveiled his spring/summer ready-to-wear collection for 2016.
At Lagerfeld’s “perfect airport”, everyone is dolled up in chic Chanel with
flashes of luxury streetwear like a cap on backwards, a sweater casually
draped over the shoulders and metallic gloves, shoes and hair accessories.
And no one is likely to ask you to remove your jacket, belt or shoes.
The red, white and blue of France’s flag, airplane motifs and accessories
were seen throughout what the German designer called “a French collection,
even if I am a stranger”.
And the irony of the timing of the show — as images of angry striking
workers stripping the shirts off Air France executives hit front pages
around
the world — was not lost on Lagerfeld.
“It isn’t very good for the image of France,” he said of the woes at the
national carrier.
But at Chanel Airlines, there was no turbulence, and revealed torsos were
intentionally so.
“The inspiration is travel, travel around the whole world and of course
perfect boarding conditions, which is not necessarily reality,” Lagerfeld
told
AFP.
The nostalgia for a time when travel was more glamorous comes after
Lagerfeld’s equally elaborate staging of a casino for his haute couture
collection in July which he said at the time evoked “a time when people
dressed up”.
Lagerfeld said he has been working on the typically elaborate decor for six
months. It included a giant board announcing upcoming flights, check-in
counters,
special Chanel Airline trolleys that fashionistas grabbed for a selfie, and
boarding gate number five — a nod to the fashion house’s famous perfume.
“Airports today are not the funniest thing in the world,” Lagerfeld said.
“This is the proposition of a perfect trip to a perfect destination with
perfect modern clothes with touches of streetwear but in expensive
materials,
well done and quite sophisticated.
“But they don’t look as sophisticated as they really are because it’s the
attitude of the girl (that) changes it.”
Top model turned actress Cara Delevingne was in the front row as was
Vanessa Paradis and her daughter with ex-husband Johnny Depp, Lily-Rose.
Sports stars Lewis Hamilton and Maria Sharapova were also along for the
ride.
Kendall Jenner, Lagerfeld’s latest muse, led the pack of youthful models
who wore classic printed tweed looks with skirts grazing below the knee,
accessorised with metallic gloves and a cap on back to front.
Large sunglasses, a rectangular block of blue eyeshadow and metallic and
plastic lace-up shoes gave an urban edge to Chanel’s classic suits.
Their hair was parted into a double ponytail with a wide metallic clip
— a
nod to Lagerfeld’s iconic ponytail.
The designer unveiled dozens of new looks, including a series of classic
suits and dresses in white trimmed with colourful floral prints, and silver
sequined tops paired with black bottoms such as wide-legged leather trousers
layered with a skirt.
The skirt over trousers look was seen on several models, paired with
chunky
wedge sandals.
But in between the brightly coloured and busy prints, were more classic
Chanel suits teamed with identical boxy little hats.
One model wore a tweed jumpsuit with a chequered yellow and pink pattern,
dragging “Coco Case” luggage behind her on the vast runway.
According to a statement from the fashion house, the iconic Chanel suit
in
its latest form has “no collar, no pockets, no lace, no buttons, but
nevertheless remains immediately recognisable.”
Floral prints on silk bandage dresses also gave the collection the
“ultra-feminine look that combines comfort and elegance and stylish and
functional accessories to travel the world.” (Fran Blandy, AFP)
Image credit: Harper’s Bazaar